--- title: "A Pilot Flying a Real Jet Just Fought an Augmented Reality Enemy" description: "In a world's first, a jet pilot flying inside a real aircraft just fought an artificial intelligence-powered virtual fighter jet in real time." date: "2020-11-16" modified: "2020-11-16" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/pilot-real-jet-fought-augmented-reality-enemy" categories: - "Future Society" - "Virtual Reality" tags: - "artificial intelligence" - "augmented reality" - "fighter jets" - "the digest" --- # A Pilot Flying a Real Jet Just Fought an Augmented Reality Enemy ![In a world's first, a jet pilot flying inside a real aircraft just fought an artificial intelligence-powered virtual fighter jet in real time.]() *\Image: Courtesy of Mike Killian/Red Six\* ## AR Fighter Jet In a world's first, a jet pilot flying inside a real aircraft just fought an artificial intelligence-powered virtual fighter jet in real time, [*The Drive* reports](). The goal is to reduce the costs involved in training fighter jet pilots in air combat, according to *The Drive*. Currently, adversary aircraft have to get into the air alongside the jet in training. The pilot, veteran F-22 pilot Daniel Robinson, flying an experimental plane, was wearing an augmented reality headset with a mounted display to monitor his virtual opponent's moves. The AI-driven opponent was a virtual representation of a Chinese stealth fighter jet created by US-based autonomous technologies company EpiSci. ## AI Bandit "With this first-ever within-visual-range dogfight against an AI bandit, EpiSci’s Tactical AI demonstrated the ability to work on a real aircraft, with flight-ready hardware and sensors," Chris Gentile, EpiSci’s vice president for tactical autonomous systems, told *The Drive*. The simulation piped into the pilot's augmented reality headset was created by air combat training system startup Red Six, which was founded by Robinson. "Pilots of the future will need to be comfortable teaming with AI — and training is the ideal place to introduce this technology," Gentile said. ## Alpha Dogfight The event followed a [program called Alpha Dogfight]() put on by the US Defense Advanced Sresearch Projects Agency (DARPA). The program saw human fighter pilots on the ground fight AI-driven opponents while wearing a virtual reality headset. During the finale of the program, a fighter jet AI was even [able to defeat a human fighter pilot](). **READ MORE:** [Pilot In A Real Aircraft Just Fought An AI-Driven Virtual Enemy Jet For The First Time]() \[*The Drive*\] **More on Alpha Dogfight:** *[AI Fighter Jet Obliterates Human Air Force Pilot in Simulated Dogfight]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()